November 15, 2010

Yesterday’s game against the Chicago Bears was a must-win . . . and they put in a terrible performance:

BRETT FAVRE: The battered quarterback had a depleted receiving corps to which he threw for a paltry 170 yards, with three interceptions and a fumble — giving Favre an eye-popping 21 turnovers this season.

SPECIAL TEAMS: Allowed dashing returner Devin Hester to break tackles and wreak havoc on the coverage units, producing returns of 68 and 42 yards. After converting nine consecutive field goals, Ryan Longwell missed for the first time this season, clanking a 39-yard attempt off the left upright in the second quarter that would have given Minnesota a six-point lead.

RUN DEFENSE: The once-vaunted unit that went 36 games without yielding 100 yards rushing has allowed four teams to crack the century mark, including Chicago, which ran up 130 yards on the ground.

Not appearing in this game were Sidney Rice and Bernard Berrian. Injured during the game was Percy Harvin, meaning the top three receivers were off the field during the last portion of the game.

Next week’s game against the Green Bay Packers may not matter, even if the Vikings can manage to win . . . they’ll need to win all of their remaining games to even hope for a wildcard spot.